KOEL MALLICK’S POLITICAL SWITCHBACK PUTS HER IN BJP’S RAJYA SABHA FRAME

October 5, 2026

KOLKATA — The BJP has named actor and former Trinamool Congress leader Koel Mallick as its candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat, months after she was associated with the ruling party in Bengal.

The move marks a significant political shift for Mallick and highlights the BJP’s continuing effort to attract recognisable public figures as it seeks to expand its political presence in West Bengal.

Mallick’s nomination comes roughly six months after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had selected her for a political role, making the latest development particularly striking in Bengal’s rapidly changing political landscape.

The BJP is expected to use Mallick’s public profile and popularity to strengthen its outreach beyond its traditional political base. Her entry into the Rajya Sabha contest also adds a prominent cultural figure to the party’s list of political faces in the state.

The development is likely to trigger a fresh political debate over defections and the movement of public personalities between rival parties, an increasingly familiar feature of Bengal politics.

With the Rajya Sabha nomination, Mallick now finds herself at the centre of another major political transition, this time as a BJP candidate after her earlier association with the Trinamool Congress.